Accusim Cub causes CTD.....can be reproduced.

[StormVR6]

Hello all,

after being very impressed with my first A2A purchase (the Civ P-51) I decided to buy another, the Accusim Cub, with all the bells and whistles.

Unfortunately, all the bells and whistles cause a CTD with this error:

Description:
Stopped working

Problem signature:
Problem Event Name: APPCRASH
Application Name: fsx.exe
Application Version: 10.0.61637.0
Application Timestamp: 46fadb14
Fault Module Name: nvd3dum.dll
Fault Module Version: 9.18.13.2723
Fault Module Timestamp: 52314d4c
Exception Code: c0000005
Exception Offset: 00607fd3
OS Version: 6.1.7601.2.1.0.768.3
Locale ID: 2057

I've had FSX CTD before (who hasn't?!) but never with a nvd3dum.dll error. This is a CTD that only happens with the Cub, with Accusim installed. Here is what I've spent the best part of 4 hours (thankfully a lot of it flying around!) doing to prove this.

1. Even though all hardware drivers are up to date, all are uninstalled, all traces removed and reinstalled.
2. A2A Cub, Accusim and Accufeel uninstalled, all traces removed from FSX folders, user folder and registry.
3. A2A Cub installed and updated to v1.11. Flight from Friday Harbor using floats - 30 minute vigorous flight, all moving parts used, passenger in seat - NO PROBLEMS.
4. A2A Accufeel installed and updated to v2.1. Accufeel disabled: Flight from Friday Harbor using floats - vigorous flight, all moving parts used, passenger in seat - NO PROBLEMS.
5. Accufeel enabled: Flight from Friday Harbor using floats - vigorous flight, all moving parts used, passenger in seat - NO PROBLEMS.
6. A2A Cub Accusim installed. Accufeel disabled: Flight from Friday Harbor using floats - vigorous flight, all moving parts used, passenger in seat - FSX CRASHES WITHIN 2 MINUTES.
7. A2A Cub Accusim installed. Accufeel disabled: Flight from Friday Harbor using floats - steady flight, no moving parts used - FSX runs fine for 30 minutes, crashes within 20 seconds of adding passenger set to 'fun'.

I think that's pretty conclusive evidence that Accusim crashes my, otherwise very stable, FSX. I understand that many more computations are involved with Accusim installed - what with all the extra sounds and effects - but I own most of the RealAir stuff, a couple of the latest Carenado aircraft and some pretty hardware heavy Aerosoft and Lionheart aircraft; none cause any problems. And to top it off, even the mighty PMDG 73NG runs without problems.

What is very disappointing is that I bought the Accusim Cub for PNW, mainly for the float version. The Accusim upgrade is outstanding, especially how it creates a realistic water environment. It's a shame I can't use it.

My OS is extremely stable and FSX never crashes, unless I make obscene amounts of visits to the menu bar. My hardware is as follows:

Windows 7 64bit
i7 @ 4.2Ghz
X58 Mobo
GTX 680
12GB RAM
X-Fi Titanium
OCZ SSD

I would love to have you guys inform me of a magic fix for this, but I'm a very methodical, PC savvy guy who knows what he's doing. So my hopes aren't high. If nothing can be done to fix Accusim then I would like to ask A2A if they would kindly reimburse me the amount paid for the Accusim upgrade, as a goodwill gesture to an ongoing customer.

Thank you.

Mark.

[StormVR6]

More info that might help....

I can cause the exact same crash (i.e. same error) simply by nose diving. I believe the CTD is caused due to an audio problem, not physics based. I can sit on water for ages with no problem, but as soon as I cause the creaking noises to happen it will CTD. Maybe a problem with .wav files?

EDIT: After spending a bit of time flying the normal wheeled Cub I can confirm that it lasts far longer before CTD, instead of constant crashing it tends to lose all Accusim sounds, only a reset can bring them back........the plot thickens......

Thank you

Mark

[StormVR6]

Does nobody have any suggestions?

[Scott - A2A]

It almost sounds like some other program may be conflicting. Can you run this utility?

http://a2asimulations.com/public/online ... Dr_A2A.exe

A little black window will appear with a blinking cursor. This will take about 60 seconds or more to complete. Once this is done, you will have a "Dr_A2A_Report" file next to the Dr_A2A.exe program. Email this to doctor[at]a2asimulations.com.

Let me know when you send this and I'll check it.

Scott.

[StormVR6]

Thanks for your reply, Scott.

Bear with me, I've just literally removed my X-Fi and I'm running FSX off my onboard Realtek audio, I've been flying the Cub, with Accusim, for over 20 minutes and no problems. I even have the woman screaming for more!

I'll update this after some more time.

Cheers.

[StormVR6]

Oh, wow........

There was me thinking that my FSX experience peaked with the RealAir Legacy and Accufeel, but oh, was I wrong! The water physics, the myriad sounds, the engine and cabin rumble at low revs, I love them all. Well over 30 glorious minutes of flying over Bella Bella and no problems, well a few sound skips, but I think I can fix that with a proper clean out of old drivers and reconfigure. The X-Fi has been relegated to voice device for ATC!

I've not had any problems with my soundcard for years, and I know Creative aren't renowned for super stable drivers but I seriously thought those days were long gone. Wrong again. At least I was right in thinking it was an audio problem.

There is just one problem I can see now.........I haven't got Accusim on my P-51.

[Pistonpilot]

I used to really enjoy my Creative Labs products, but hey were all retired when they started conflicting wih FSX related stuff. Sadly, they now live in my spare parts bin. Glad you're enjoying life after Xfi, though.

- Ian C

[Scott - A2A]

Ah OK, yes Creative Labs was once THE sound card, now completely unnecessary and IMO, horribly supported. Best to get that card out of your system.

Scott.

[StormVR6]

OK, well not all is good.

No CTDs at all, which is great! BUT, I now have constant stutter, best produced by simply banking left or right. Again, no other aircraft I have does this, I'm fortunate to have a very steady frame rate with only the odd hitch. All my aircraft (and I have many) bank smoothly, the Accusim Cub causes a continuous (every second +/-) stutter.

What should be a simple aircraft install has turned into days of messing around.

[Scott - A2A]

So the airplanes was perfectly smooth for 30 minutes, and then you get a framerate stutter only when you bank?

Scott.

[StormVR6]

Thanks for keeping up with this one, Scott.

Yeah, when I was testing yesterday there were stutters but I wasn't too bothered because I planned for a complete uninstall of all drivers (and X-Fi hardware) as well as all Accusim stuff, aircraft and Accufeel.

I completed that task today and unfortunately there's no improvement with the smoothness of flight. Even capping a 20fps frame rate within FSX yields stutters with the Cub. The scenery almost looks like it's chugging, but the frame rate is virtually stuck at 25fps (my capped frame rate). Very irritating.

I'm going to try tweaking NV Inspector, Vsync may be a potential problem, although I am slightly miffed at having to continue altering my hardware and software for one aircraft, especially considering I had no previous problems. I'm hopeful it'll get resolved one way or another.

I'll keep this thread updated.

Cheers.

[StormVR6]

Well I've tried various settings, and it's no go. The Cub with Accusim causes FSX to stutter, without Accusim, no stutter. Simple as that.

I tried the X-Fi again, even trying the awful Alchemy software, no good. X-Fi causes a CTD with Accusim. Funnily enough I somehow managed a 5+ minute flight with the X-Fi and guess what? The X-Fi stutters too. Well I'm not willing to spend anymore time removing hardware, altering software and tweaking a program that gives me hours and hours of problem-free flying just for Accusim. As good as it is, it's not worth trying to fix something that isn't broken. The only common denominator with this issue is Accusim.

Considering I've no problems whatsoever with every other 3rd party add-on (and the list is looooooooong) and I've tried everything possible - within reason - I respectfully ask that A2A refund me the cost of Accusim for the Cub.

Thank you.

Mark.

[Scott - A2A]

Mark,

PM me your order number and I'll take care of that.

Scott.

[StormVR6]

Being the sort of guy who can't let something go, I took another look at the Accusim problem.

Clearly I have an issue with the audio. With Accusim uninstalled all is smooth, with it installed it's stutter-time! So I took a look in the Accusim sound folder and was slightly surprised to see quite so many .wav files - over 400 to be precise - which obviously means a lot of extra calls, compared to the stock A2A Cub, being made whilst in flight. The bigger surprise (and a definite concern) is the bitrate of these files, 1411kbps. This bitrate is not only unnecessary but also causes huge .wav files, one of which (the floating water glub-glub effect) is over 5MB!

I reduced some of these larger .wav files down to normal (perfectly good quality) sizes and after making adjustments to db and other boring stuff I got the audio files playing at similar levels in terms of both quality and volume. Cut a long process/story short: your average Joe wouldn't tell the difference unless he was wearing Sennheiser HD800s. After a bit of flying I notice an improvement and maybe - after spending ages editing .wav files - I could fix the stutter altogether. Who knows, I'm not inclined to spend the time finding out.

So, why the high bitrate which clearly causes performance issues? I understand you guys want high fidelity, real life sounds for your Accusim stuff but surely 320kbps would suffice? Maybe offer an upgrade (e.g. HD audio pack) for those that care?

BTW: After days of waiting I still haven't heard from FSS regarding my refund. Maybe you could help me with that, Scott?

Thank you.

[Scott - A2A]

Storm,

Your system should not have an issue playing those sounds. Something is clearly wrong.

Don't worry about the refund from FSS. If they don't get you one in the coming days, just PM me your order number and the email you are using to communicate and I'll shoot them an email.

Scott.